Who is collecting and using your personal data?
Southend City Council has partnered with Eequ as part of the Government"s Holiday Activity and Food programme (HAF) to deliver activities and healthy meals during the school holidays for children of families aged 4 to 16 years old for benefit related free school meals.
To provide the activities to you and your family, it is necessary for Southend on Sea City Council to collect and hold your personal information about you and your child/children in order to access the HAF.
This information will include:
- full name of child
- parent/ carer contact details
- address
- date of birth or age
- medical information
- dietary needs
- SEND Needs
- photographic and video permissions
- school name
- eligibility categories (for example, looked after, previously looked after, child with an EHCP and young carer)
Southend City Council and Eequ will collect personal data (as specified above) from providers and families to ensure the smooth running of the programme. Southend Council and Eequ will handle personal data in accordance with the UK general Data Protection Regulation Act 2018 and other relevant legislation and will not disclose your data to any other third party unless allowed or required to do so by legislation.
Who is processing your data?
All personal data held, is processed in accordance with the data protection law. Southend City Council is the Data Controller for the information sharing outlined in this privacy notice.
Eequ is working as a data processor and will process your information on behalf of the Council.
How will we use the information we hold about you?
We will collect information about you (where applicable) to:
- determine the eligibility of children for the Holiday Activity and Food programme
- connect parents or carers and providers in high-risk groups to support children so they have high quality activity and food over the school holidays
- share any medical or personal data (for example, food allergies or additional needs) to help keep children and young people safe
- coordinate an effective response to the HAF fund from the Council and wider community
- connect you with service updates relating to the HAF programme and how this could benefit you and your family
What is the legal basis for us to process your data?
This information processing is part of Southend Council"s public task. The processing and sharing of personal data in this way is required for the purpose of coordinating and providing the HAF programme effectively, as outlined in the Department of Education (DFE) guidance.
The legal basis for processing the data is in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority (Article 6.1e UK GDPR).
Who will we share your information with?
We will share your information with approved HAF providers.
Anonymised data will be shared with the Department for Education for the purpose of submitting the Holiday Activity Return, which is a requirement of the funding received by Southend City Council.
We will not normally share your information with organisations other than our partner organisations without your consent. However, there may be certain circumstances where we would share information without consent, such as if we were required to do so by law, to safeguard public safety, or in risk of harm emergency situations.
Any information shared will only be on a need-to-know basis, with appropriate individuals. Only the minimum information required for the specific sharing purpose will be shared.
How long do we keep your records?
We will only retain your personal data for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfil the purposes it was collected, including for the purpose of managing your HAF booking needs or DfE reporting requirements.
We will retain your personal HAF data so you can book future activities without the need to re-enter information. Data collected for the HAF programme during checkout will be kept for a maximum of three years.
Eequ" s privacy policy details how Eequ may retain your personal data for the purpose of using the Booking platform for other non-HAF activities: Eequ Privacy Policy | Eequ Help Centre
All information will be held securely and destroyed under confidential conditions.
Your Rights
You have a number of rights under data protection law, including the right to request your information and to request that the information be amended or erased if incorrect.
For full details about how the Council processes your personal data please see the Council"s privacy policy. Eequ" s privacy policy is also available here: Eequ" s privacy policy
To request your records, you will need to contact the Information Rights team via email at DataProtection@southend.gov.uk
You also have a right to make a complaint about our handling of your personal data to the Information Commissioners Office.
Providing Accurate Information
It is important we hold accurate and up to date information about you to assess your needs and deliver the appropriate services. If any of your details have changed or change in the future, please ensure you inform us as soon as possible so we can update your records.
Further Information
If you have any questions or concerns about how your information is used, please contact HAF@southend.gov.uk.
You can also contact the Data Protection team at Southend City Council at dataprotection@southend.gov.uk
More information about data protection and how it applies can be found on the Information Commissioners Office website
July 2025
If you would like this information in a PDF format please email HAF@southend.gov.uk